Networked computers are used to transmit and fetch information to and from local sources (e.g., computers used in a business) and remote sources (e.g., enterprise services offered over the Internet). To ensure privacy and security during communication between networked computers, authentication and verification mechanisms may be used. Thus, the authentication and verification mechanisms can be used to establish a trusted session between a server and client. The trusted session can be used to transfer communications for monitoring and managing network monitors so that security and privacy for each user can be maintained.
A network monitor is typically arranged to act as an intermediary between a host network and a system that is used to manage the host network. The network monitor receives monitoring information from hosts on a network and sends the received monitoring information to a service provider server in the system. The received information is processed through the network monitor, which passes the processed information to the service provider server. The service provider server typically stores information for monitored local URLs, hosts (monitored servers and/or applications), and checks (specific information gathered from a host). The service provider server also can generate notifications, log all monitoring events, and communicate with service provider daemons executing on monitored hosts.
A network monitor uses a trusted session to provide information for managing a network to system administrators at a service provider server. For example, administrators from a service company can manage an in-house system for a client company by using networking configuration software over a public network. The conventional network monitor allows monitoring of behind-the-firewall network infrastructure without the need to open incoming network ports. The conventional network monitor is a hardware device that is typically pre-configured. The network monitor is typically configured with no listening ports activated so that external intrusion attempts are avoided. Network communications from the network monitor to the systems to be monitored (host systems) and to the service provider server are normally one-way and initiated by the network monitor. The network monitor periodically collects monitoring data from the customer network environment and packages and sends the data to the configuration service provider server at regular intervals using a trusted session
The network monitor can also request any updates for the configurations, and monitoring schedules during the session. The configuration service provider server can deliver any changes that the customer may have made via the trusted session portal, as well as provide updates such as new features or bug fixes available after a product release. However, the cost of dedicated hardware for network monitoring systems for maintenance of relatively small systems can be a significant portion of the cost for maintaining a system. In such cases, customers are normally required to pay the relatively high cost to maintain secure network monitoring or to forgo using a secure system for network monitoring.